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List:       kde-core-devel
Subject:    Re: loading KConfigBackEnd dynamic
From:       Waldo Bastian <bastian () kde ! org>
Date:       2002-02-19 20:35:18
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On Sunday 17 February 2002 03:57 am, Tobias Koenig wrote:
> On Tue, Feb 19, 2002 at 12:05:18AM +0000, Rik Hemsley wrote:
> > #if Waldo Bastian
> >
> > > Well, I asked it before and I will ask it again:
> > > What is the purpose of KConfigXMLBackEnd? I think once that question is
> > > answered it will be better possible to answer your remaining questions.
> >
> > I'm wondering that too. Yes, it would be nice to make parsing 5% easier
> > for non-KDE apps, but this would also make human-parsing 100% harder.
>
> 1) xml-backend
> Nobody is forced to use the xml backend, butmaybe there will be users,
> which are more interessted in a xml-config format instead of speed. Please
> don't missunderstanding me, I do not wish that the xml-backend replaces the
> ini-backend, but it will be a alternative.

Ok. So you want it to be user-configurable. Then there are some problems that 
you will need to solve: 
* Some KDE applications install predefined (global) config files in INI 
format, how should that be handled?
* .desktop files are standardized in INI format. Even though other files may 
be in XML format, it should be possible to read these files in INI format.

It should be noted that used this way, there are no functional advantages of 
XML over INI. Since they both implement the same API, they both deliver the 
same functionality. The only thing that is different is the representation.

You assert that "some users may want to use it" but is that because these 
users merily want to be buzzword compliant or is it because it allows them to 
do better perform a certain task? I don't think the first is a valid 
argument, in case of the latter I would like to know why XML would suit them 
better.

> 2) dynamic loading

Dynamic loading is a means to an end, not a purpose.

Cheers,
Waldo
-- 
Advanced technology only happens when people take a basic idea and add to it.
 -- Bob Bemer

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